A crucial goal from Lacazette, scored fifteen minutes before the end of the match, secured Olympique Lyonnais’ ticket to the round of 16 of the Europa League. Following a goalless draw in the first leg, OL once again encountered difficulties against the aggressive play of Chernomorets Odessa. Rémi Garde’s side struggled to cope with the physicality of the Ukrainian team and found themselves pushed around for much of the game. However, Lacazette’s well-taken goal in the 79th minute finally sealed their qualification for the next round of the competition. This marked the Guadeloupean striker’s first goal in the Europa League.
“I had scored in all other competitions except in Europe, so I’m delighted that this goal helped secure our qualification,” commented Lacazette in an interview with beIN Sports. “In the first half, we were a bit timid. At halftime, the coach encouraged us to be more assertive, and we responded. Now that we’ve qualified, we can focus on preparing for the next round against Plzen. Odessa defended well, but we didn’t execute our game plan properly to break them down.”
The upcoming fixture against the Czech side Viktoria Plzen is expected to pose another challenging test for Lyon.
